Come and join us on Saturday 27th September at FUTURES: A Festival of Discovery! futuresnight.co.uk This Saturday, the EngBio CDT will have an exhibition from 10am-4pm at We The Curious @wethecurious.bsky.social as part of Discovery Day. Tickets are free! Tickets here: tinyurl.com/4jur2vpv

That’s a wrap on Welcome Week at @bristoluni.bsky.social! Students have taken part in: 🧫 a visit to @sciencecreates.bsky.social 💭 an introduction to innovation and responsible research 🗣️ a poster event with Cohort 1 students and supervisors

Welcome to Cohort 2 of our EngBio CDT! The 2025 academic year has kicked off in Bristol and we’re very pleased to welcome another group of enthusiastic students onto the programme.

Meet the team!👋 Dr Jonathan Bath Jonathan is our Co-i and EDI Champion, based at the University of Oxford. Jonathan's work involves making molecular machines using DNA as a construction material. To find out more about Jonathan's research, visit his staff profile here; bit.ly/41MfehV

Meet the team!👋 Mireia Bes Garcia Mireia is our Responsible Research & Innovation Lead, based at University of Bristol She is one of our RRI training leads, covering environment, engagement and inclusive research through bespoke sessions for our students More about Mireia's work: bit.ly/4oWjDsw

Congratulations to our first cohort of students who are coming to the end of their taught units. We can’t believe how quickly this last year has gone! 👏 September will see the start of their PhD/DPhil projects and we’ll be welcoming Cohort 2 to the programme. 🌟

Meet the team!👋 Dr Kerstin Kinkelin Kerstin is our Innovation Manager, based at the University of Bristol. Kerstin works with partners across the innovation ecosystem to identify opportunities for collaborative research and training. Find out more about Kerstin's work here: bit.ly/45kuogz

One of the reasons we love living in Bristol? The annual Bristol Balloon Fiesta of course! The event takes place every summer when the city sees hundreds of balloons take to the skies. Our CDT Administrator Cat took this photo from her balcony last weekend 😍

Our students are part way through their second Short Research Project. They're looking into research areas such as: - characterising the phase-transition profile of haemoglobin in sickled RBCs 🩸 - using reinforcement learning to understand protein expression 🧑‍💻 It’s been a productive summer so far!

Meet the team!👋 Vivienne Kuh Viv is our Responsible Research & Innovation Lead, based at University of Bristol Viv is one of our RRI training leads, covering environment, engagement and inclusive research through bespoke sessions for our students Find out more about Viv's research: bit.ly/4eBExbs

Meet the team!👋 Professor Antonis Papachristodoulou Antonis is our Co-Director, based at University of Oxford. Antonis is part of the SYSOS group, who develop tools based on modern control theory for biological and technological systems.  Find out more about his research here: bit.ly/4lyJxzT

Since the end of the Summer School, we've been collecting feedback from students & attendees: "I learned so much during the Summer School & it was a great opportunity to network with academic and industry partners, as well as getting to know the new cohort!" Excited to make next year's even better!

And that’s a wrap! 🎉 Thank you to everyone who attended our first Summer School. We really appreciate you taking the time to be part of our event. We enjoyed the talks, the networking opportunities, & meeting some of our next cohort. We hoped you all enjoyed it!

It's the last day of the Summer School & we have been joined by Lucia Pavey and Megan Wood-Smith from the University of Bristol. They have talked to us about trusted research & the implications of wider collaborations. Soon, we'll be heading off for a tour at the Bristol Digital Futures Institute!

After the Biosecurity talks in the morning, the afternoon sessions involved some student led sessions. This included discussing future collaborations within their PhDs and identifying opportunities to work together. The day wrapped up with a discussion with our Scientific Advisory Board.

Day 2 of the Summer School is underway! We started with Andrew Engeli from Ginkgo Bioworks who shared insights on Biosecurity for Biotechnology. Nicole Wheeler from ARIA followed, with a talk about Responsible AI in Engineering Biology.

This afternoon, we continued with more inspiring talks from: Velia Siciliano (Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia), Will Milligan (Extracellular), Max Jamilly (Hoxton Farms), Giulia Cuccato (Academy of Medical Sciences) Huge thanks to our speakers! Excited for networking tonight before starting Day 2!

This morning, we kicked off the Summer School with some great talks from Francesca Ceroni, Imperial College London, Teo Garcia-Millen from CDotBio, and Michiel Stock from Ghent University. Looking forward to more talks this afternoon! 🔬⚗️

Kicking off our first CDT Summer School in Bristol this week! 🎓 3 days of talks, workshops & networking with students, academics & industry partners. Excited for the connections & insights ahead! #CDTSummerSchool #STEM

Today, the students came together in Oxford for a training day. In the morning, the students took part in a workshop on how to have a difficult conversation. After lunch, the students were joined by Dave Jarman for a session on developing and delivering engaging presentations

Meet the team!👋 Professor Imre Berger Imre is our Co-I and Research Culture Lead, based at University of Bristol. Imre's research involves synthetic biology of vaccines, DNA delivery, genome engineering and eukaryotic multigene transfer. Find out about his research here: bit.ly/43HCJZp

We've been busy giving our website a makeover, and we're proud to say it's ready to view! 🪄 What's new? We now have; → Information on cohort 1 → Our industry partners → Our core team Come have a look over at engbio-cdt.org

Yesterday, artist RTiiiKA led our students in a day of play exploring our imaginations of the futures of engineering biology. This, along with input from Science Education Expert Jon James (UoB), has helped the students to prepare for working with young people next week

We are delighted to announce that two academics from the University of Bristol's School of Chemistry have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Society @royalsociety.org Congratulations to our Director Prof Dek Woolfson, and to Prof Jonathan Clayden. royalsociety.org/news/2025/05...

Today is International Day for Biological Diversity🧫 Biological diversity underpins our whole world and we rely completely upon these resources. It is crucial that we continue to protect, develop, and research to advance our understanding of these provisions.

Meet the team!👋 Dr Jean-Baptiste Lugagne Jean-Baptiste is our lecturer in EngBio, based at University of Oxford. His research explores cell-machine interfaces to control and optimize biological processes for EngBio applications. Find out about @jblugagne.bsky.social research here: bit.ly/44HUzhh

Professor Lucia Marucci has just received a BBSRC Transformative Technologies grant. This award will allow her, in collaboration with Prof Claire Grierson and Prof Tom Gorochowski, to experimentally test predictions from whole-cell models and machine learning surrogates, accelerating the redesign...

To commemorate International Day of Plant Health, we caught up with James, one of our students based in Oxford. James' first short research project focused on plants and their molecular pathways. We asked him why he was interested researching this area:

We really enjoyed delivering our session at #SynBioBETA2025 on turning breakthrough health innovations into real world impact. Thanks to everyone who attended and asked so many questions, and thanks to Fiona Mischel and John Cumbers from @synbiobeta.bsky.social for the opportunity to present.

Meet the team!👋 Dr Jessica Cross Jessica is our lecturer in EngBio, based at the University of Bristol. Jessica works within chemistry, biology and engineering to design and engineer proteins to manipulate cell architecture. Find out about @jessicacross.bsky.social research here: bit.ly/3RE5nFx

Last week, the CDT students submitted their first short research project 🥳 During their first year, CDT students research two 11-week projects. One of these will become their PhD project which they will work on for the next three years. After submitting, students met up to discuss their findings.

Meet the team! 👋 Professor Malavika Nair Malavika is our Co-I & Research Culture Lead at University of Oxford Their research bridges the gap between electronic healthcare devices and regenerative implants by exploiting the electromechanical behaviour of biopolymers Find out more: bit.ly/44q6Rum

Each month, we catch up with our two student reps, Natasha (based in Oxford) and Maria (based in Bristol). They give us helpful feedback from the rest of the cohort about the CDT course. It's great to work with them and to see how enthusiastic they are about the course.

Yesterday, our CDT students came to Oxford for Innovation Training. Led by Bryan Sergeant from Innovex Management, they explored Market Research—its importance, execution, & presentation.Following this, they concluded their day with a tour of the BioEscalator, Oxford’s hub for biomedical innovation.

Meet the team!👋 Professor Thomas Gorochowski Thomas is our Deputy Director and Project Lead, based at the University of Bristol. His work explores the molecular-scale mechanisms that individual cells and groups of cells use. Find out more about @chofski.bsky.social research here: bit.ly/3XDgVw3

Our students are currently in Week 6 of their first 11-week Short Research Project. They're looking into a range of research areas such as: - exploring novel strategies in genetic circuits 🧬 - controlling the ratio of populations of cells 🧫 - investigating evolution to adapt bacteria cells 🦠

Meet the team!👋 Professor Robert Carlisle Robert is our Engineering Biology CDT Director, based at University of Oxford. His work is concerned with achieving systemic delivery of anti-cancer agents for the treatment of metastatic cancer. Find out more about Robert's research here: bit.ly/4ihR70I

Yesterday, some of the CDT students took part in the Institute of Biomedical Engineering Open Day! 67 Year 11 students from 21 schools visited the Department. With a mixture of demos and lectures, the day was finished off with some well earnt lunch! It was great to see so many students! 🥼

In celebration of #UNESCO World Engineering Day, we caught up with Lucia, one of our CDT Directors, Kerstin, our Innovation Manager, and Joanna, our CDT Manager, all based in Bristol 🎓 We asked them about the EngBio CDT course and they helped provide answers to some FAQs youtu.be/veS6T3omn5k?...

Deadline reminder 📣 Make sure to submit your application by noon tomorrow, Tuesday 4th March 2025, if you wish to be considered for the EngBio CDT course, starting in September 2025. More details of the course and how to apply can be found here: bit.ly/EngBioCDTOx

Meet the team!👋 Professor Lucia Marucci Lucia is our Engineering Biology CDT Director, based at the University of Bristol. Her research is centered on engineering cell functions, with applications to biotechnology and healthcare. Find out more about Lucia's research here: bit.ly/3ETqwIA

Application deadline approaching! 📣 A quick reminder that the deadline to submit your application for the EngBio CDT is fast approaching! Don't miss your chance to be a part of this incredible opportunity ⚛️ Deadline: midday on Tuesday 4th March How to apply: bit.ly/EngBioCDTOx

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of International Mother Language Day, we asked our CDT students to share information about their studies in another language. Can you guess which languages they're speaking? youtu.be/IcX2uUBqjo4 #MotherLanguageDay

Today is International Day of Women & Girls in Science. In a recent video for the UKRI's Engineering Biology Showcase, the BBI's Scientific Manager, Dr Kathleen Sedgley, talks about her career: www.discover.ukri.org/kathleen-sed... #WomenInScience #WomenInSTEM #February11

Today is Feb 11 which marks International Day of Women and Girls in Science! We have a fantastic team of women who make up our Engineering Biology CDT – from our Director to our supervisors, from EDI Champion to Innovation & Scientific Managers. We’re very proud to celebrate our team today. #IDWGS

As part of their Innovation Training, the students recently gained insights into the support provided by Technology Transfer Offices at @bristoluni.bsky.social and @ox.ac.uk, and explored the intricate world of Intellectual Property. Thank you to all our trainers and Mewburn Ellis for hosting us.

Have you just applied to the CDT? If you have and are wondering what sort of support we offer, check out our new video! We caught up with Joanna, the CDT Manager, and Jon Bath, our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion champion. You can watch here: bit.ly/CDTwelfaresu...

📢 JOB VACANCY 4-Year Postdoc Position in Protein Design at @bristoluni.bsky.social Develop new peptides and proteins to manipulate, target and probe the mechanisms that underpin intracellular transport by microtubule motors. More: www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find-in... Deadline: 6 Feb 2025

It’s coming up to our Bristol application deadline, make sure to get your application in for the Engineering Biology CDT by Monday 13th January!⏰Full details are available here, including how to apply: bit.ly/419fjMZ

Don't forget to submit your application for the Engineering Biology CDT by midday (12pm UK time) tomorrow, Wednesday 8th January! 📣 This is the deadline for Oxford applications. Full details are available here, including how to apply: bit.ly/EngBioCDTOx (Bristol deadline is Monday 13th January)